


Conflict Of Interest

by cherrysprite



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Falling In Love, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Jealousy, Love Confessions, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Pining, Slow Burn, Theo Raeken Loves Liam Dunbar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23210404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrysprite/pseuds/cherrysprite
Summary: Liam wants to get back together with Brett, who clearly doesn't deserve him, but Theo is so weak and so in love that he only wants to see Liam happy, which gets him stuck in a self-punishing plot to help Liam get him back.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 5
Kudos: 141





	Conflict Of Interest

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic that came with the COVID-19 quarantine from me...expect more!!

The first few minutes after breaking up with Brett, tears still drying on his cheeks, was the most empowered Liam had ever felt in his life. When he had started dating Brett, he had thought that the other boy had been too good to be true, and assumed that he would never be the one strong enough to end it, but he had; the outgoing phone call in his records proved it. Sure, maybe he had done it in a phone call, but Brett was a bitch and he wasn't sure he would have been able to do it as strongly as he did over the phone. At least now his tears had been saved for after the conversation was done and he was able to grin through them triumphantly.

The first few hours after breaking up with Brett, tears were still drying on his cheeks since they had unexpectedly kept coming, but this time they were less noticeable with how drunk Liam was. He was underage and alone in his house, his parents both working the nightshifts, but he felt good, or so he thought. There was nothing to worry about. He thought he deserved it for what good he had just done for himself. He was a _badass_ , breaking up with Brett after almost six months. 

The first day after breaking up with Brett, while Liam was nursing a hangover and he had a bunch of missed texts from both his ex and his friends who he had drunk-texted, Liam started to admit to himself that his intoxication the night before hadn't all been because of his "freedom," if at all. It was then that he realized that Brett's good-morning text should have come in about an hour prior if they were still together, and that he wouldn't have those to wake up to anymore. Not that it mattered, because Brett was, like he said, a bitch...but who was he kidding. It _did_ matter.

The next couple of days after breaking up with Brett, Liam was downright sad.

It didn't matter how much bashing he and his friends did of Brett in Liam's _"Fuck Him"_ moments, Liam still missed him like hell already and he felt like there was no reason to go to school anymore. He was dragging himself out of bed every morning and barely making it to school on time as he sluggishly got into the car to drive, and it wasn't like he was doing much in school, anyway. He didn't like going to lacrosse practices anymore because Brett was there and his friends weren't really sure what to do with him to cheer him up, so there wasn't a lot to look forward to when it came to school. Liam didn't know just how terrible school was when he didn't have a boyfriend after spending all those months with him and in love with him, the only thing keeping him going during the day. Maybe that made him disconcertingly fragile, but that knowledge didn't exactly help him now that it was too late.

It took seeing himself in the background of a video Mason took at their lunch table to get him to perk up a little, not because he wanted to, but because he couldn't stand looking like he did to other people. Everyone else in the video was happy and amused while they were doing something ridiculous as usual, throwing pieces of orange peel at each other, but Liam had his head down on the table. He already knew what he was looking at in that moment too, as he watched it back; he looked at the same thing every time he was at lunch. He remembered sitting at the table with Brett and his friends on Tuesdays and Thursdays, sharing his time between his own friends and his boyfriend. Now, he didn't have to pick or disappoint anybody, but it was a lot less relieving than he had thought it would be.

But Brett barely looked at him at all, completely unbothered by their breakup, as it seemed. Now, Liam had expected that part, Brett not being the one who walked away hurt by the situation, but he had sort of thought that he might try a little harder to get Liam back. Their relationship had been long and meaningful for both of them, even if it was admittedly more meaningful to Liam, and he wasn't sure how Brett could just give it up like that. Besides occasional glances in the hallway and in class, there was nothing. 

He knew he had to do something, and he knew exactly what.

He was going to get Brett back.

+++

"But he _cheated_ on you," Corey said as coolly and calmly as he could at the lunch table when Liam confidently brought it up. They had all been surprised when he had walked into the cafeteria with a renewed vigor, but they hadn't been prepared for this. Corey just looked sad, but talked to him like he was trying to explain something to a toddler. Knowing Liam, he basically was. "We created several different plots about how to kill him and dispose of the body."

"Plots that, mind you, we got very close to putting into play!" Mason reminded a lot less comfortingly than his boyfriend, butting in incredulously. "He's a cheating, lying bastard who only thinks of himself and still had sidepieces when he was dating you."

"Right, but who wasn't the sidepiece? Me," Liam protested. "I was different. And what proof did I really have that he still had sides anyway? We all flirt a little bit when we're in relationships."

"No. We don't," Mason said matter-of-fact-ly, looking like he wanted to smack his best friend upside the head. "I have never once gone and flirted with somebody else while I've been with Corey, and I've been with him for almost two and a half years. That's not a thing that happens."

"Well, that's you. You're weird. Theo," Liam prompted. Theo looked up from where he had been sitting silently across from Liam and next to Mason and Corey, looking apprehensive, like he didn't want to be a part of this. "You've flirted with other people while you were with Tracy, right? And that was a perfectly healthy relationship. You guys were solid for a long time."

"Uh...no," Theo admitted. "No, I didn't."

Liam groaned and shook his head. "You know what, whatever. Some people just have a flirty personality, and that's what Brett has! He's just like that. I just didn't get used to it, is all. I don't care."

"You are so in denial right now that it hurts to listen to," Mason said, eyes wide and almost scared of what Liam was saying. "Remember how we almost burned his hoodie? Hm? Remember that, three days ago?"

"Emphasis on almost. But we didn't. Deep down I knew I was going to want it, and I was right. Now, are you going to help me, or not?"

"No??" Mason scoffed. Liam didn't even blink.

"Well, that's your choice. Just don't expect the role of 'best man' to still be on hold for you at my wedding if we end up getting married."

"Jesus, Liam, come back," Mason groaned as Liam set off, but he had a plan, and it didn't involve sitting at that lunch table a second longer.

+++

Theo found him out on the bleachers while the girls practiced soccer, scribbling furiously in his notebook like some type of madman while he should have been eating lunch. Theo rolled his eyes, first endearingly, then self-deprecatingly. He shouldn't find it cute that Liam was this worked up over another guy, especially one like Brett. 

He had never liked the guy, not when they met for the first time in eighth grade and not when they met again in junior year when Liam introduced him officially as his boyfriend. He thought he was arrogant and a player and never knew when to quit just from the way Liam talked about him before they were together and what he had heard of him from other people, and clearly he was right. He'd tried telling Liam that he still had guys he was talking to on the side, ones who he didn't exactly discourage from hanging all over him when Liam was around, but Liam never seemed to hear him. His dislike for Brett wasn't just because he had hurt Liam and Theo would never have done that; he was an all-around sucky person to begin with.

"Hey," He said, sitting down on the bleachers next to him. Taking a glance at his notebook, Liam didn't have much of a plan at all, just different words scribbled out, but Liam wasn't dumb, no matter how clouded his common sense seemed to be. He would have one eventually. "What are you doing?" He asked, knowing he didn't want to hear it.

"Trying to figure out how to get Brett back," Liam said as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Since Mason and Corey won't help, we need to figure out how to together."

"Wait, what?" Theo asked. Liam looked at him questioningly.

"What, _what?"_

"What did you say?"

"I said that we need to figure out how to get him back." Liam wrote down something else that Theo didn't quite catch, but he crossed it out a second later, and froze. "Wait. Are you not helping?" He asked, looking up at Theo in concern. "I mean, I guess you don't have to, but I kind of wanted someone to be behind me on this."

The first few seconds after Liam asked him to help, Theo could do nothing more than look at his friend and think. He knew his face must read nothing but pain as he tried to decide, but Liam wouldn't know what it was about, anyway. As smart as Liam could be, his obliviousness had always gotten in the way. It had gotten in the way the day he started to like Brett and the day Theo had tried to tell him how he felt, _twice_ , and it was getting in the way now. If Liam wasn't so damn oblivious and stupid all the time, maybe he and Brett would have broken up a long time ago, and Theo wouldn't be in this situation, stuck between his friendship and his feelings, but the fact of the matter was that he had to answer.

He was swayed only by the pleading look in Liam's eye and how happy he used to be before he and Brett broke up. If there was one thing Theo could say kindly about himself, it was that he was able to give things up. He'd done it before. He just wanted Liam to be happy again.

"I'll help," He said, but his heart was screaming out as he did. He took a deep breath, pushing away his internal protests as Liam beamed, and he moved just a little closer on the bleachers. _He could allow himself that, if anything._ "Where do you want to start?"

+++

Mason and Corey looked at both of them like they were idiots, and while Liam was stubborn enough not to see it, Theo caught every flick of their judgmental eyes when they fell his way and he couldn't disagree with them. Theo had never told them, but it didn't take an idiot to see how Theo felt about Liam. It only took an idiot to put himself right in the middle of it all and work for the opposing side when he could have just run.

If he didn't agree to it, _he could have just run._

It didn't stop them from asking about how the plan, if they could even call it that, was going, even if it was just to discourage it. With each question, Liam had an answer backed up, even if it was stupid. His confidence in it shut any resistance down even if he was dodging, and that was fine if it meant Theo didn't have to be an active variable in the effort yet. 

So far, it didn't seem like they were actually doing anything. Their operation had mostly been half-hearted brainstorming on Theo's part while Liam listed all the things that he and Brett used to do, as if Theo wanted to hear that at all. He now knew all of what they used to do together when they were still dating, their favorite movies and shared songs, and had a list of things that Brett liked that Liam could try. Still, as much as that sucked, he was glad that he hadn't been doing much.

"It's going really well, actually. Theo's going to come to the weight room today and help. Brett always hated when someone else helped me train."

Mason and Corey turned to Theo, who was surprised, but was trying to hide it as he picked at the flimsy salad he'd gotten from the lunch line. He wasn't that hungry to begin with. "You are?" Mason asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Uh, yeah," Theo said as if Liam hadn't just sprung that on him, nodding. Liam grinned and leaned back triumphantly in his chair, folding his arms on his chest. Theo already wasn't looking forward to that afternoon.

+++

The first thing Theo did when Liam went on his water break was text his mom and ask if he had been dropped on his head as a baby, because he was sure that he couldn't have gotten this stupid on his own. She said no, followed by a string of question marks, but he texted her back a simple 'just wondering' and left it be. He had other things to worry about, after all, such as Brett, who was shooting him sideways glares every so often. He had only talked to the guy a few times, and they had never been anything more than begrudgingly acquainted, so Theo really wanted to shoot him some type of smug look. Instead, he looked back down to his phone and pretended to be texting someone. It wasn't his place. Liam wasn't his to be smug about.

"Ready to go again?" Liam asked, picking up one of the heavy medicine balls they had been using before and tossing it from hand to hand almost effortlessly. Theo knew he meant putting on a show more than actually helping Liam train, but he wasn't really ready for the latter, either. He was sure that Liam was going to take his shirt off any minute as the grey tank he had on got sweatier, and that wasn't an image Theo ever got out of his mind easily. Theo nodded anyway and caught the ball as he threw it back.

Liam sat down on the floor, raising his feet up so he was working his abs and supported only with his ass and the strength of his stomach. Theo tossed him the ball and he caught it deftly, twisting to each side and touching the floor with the ball to work both his arms and abs before throwing it back. 

For the twelve repetitions, Theo started to forget what they were there for and it felt like he was just there to help Liam work out. He'd never asked him to do it before, since he normally had his lacrosse buddies or Brett to do it with him, but he felt natural, and he could already imagine coming back the next time to be his spotter and partner. However, the illusion was broken when Liam looked at Brett, who was working on handweights ten feet away. He was trying to show off for him, he remembered, and just how good of a partner Theo was, and Brett was trying not to notice. Theo honestly would have liked it a lot better if he didn't, but he had to admit that the plan was working. Brett glanced over at them too often for it to be an accident, and it kept going. 

"You think he's jealous?" Liam asked with a wide grin Theo would have melted over when he looked back at him, still throwing and catching the ball. Theo tried for a supportive smile and probably failed, but he nodded anyway as they tossed the medicine ball back and forth. "He's probably so pissed. He claims to be the best training partner ever, wouldn't let me and Corey do it together when we were dating or even when we were in the talking stage. Bet he loves seeing that you're just as good."

Apparently, since karma had it in for him to punish his stupidity, Liam had spoken too soon. When he threw the ball at him a little harder to make a point, it slipped through Theo's hands and landed on his foot, fifteen pounds coming down on his toes suddenly. Theo hissed and instinctively bent down to grab his foot. "Ah, fuck!" He groaned loud enough for it to not be covered by the loud rap music playing in the speakers above. Brett, Nolan, Liam, and everyone else in the weightroom looked over at him in surprise, and Liam jumped up to rush over to him. 

"Jesus, Theo, I'm sorry!" He gasped, pushing the ball even further away so he wouldn't trip on it as he knelt down next to Theo. "Are you okay? Jesus..."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Theo grit out, trying to ignore the way Brett's eyes were on the two of them. He focused instead on the concern in Liam's eyes and the hand he had resting on his knee. "It's fine, I promise."

"Let me drive you home early, we can go," Liam said softly, not giving Theo any time to protest, not that he wanted to. The last place he wanted to be was there. He grabbed Theo's hand and guided him up. He didn't have the heart to tell Liam that it really hadn't hurt that bad and that he didn't need help up. Not with the way Liam was still softly holding his hand, barely a brush of fingers as they made their way out of the weightroom, and how his hand moved to stay on Theo's back all the way until they reached Liam's car.

He bet Brett never dropped medicine balls on his feet and made his workouts end early. Liam probably drove him home and they made out in the front seat before going in side, just soaking in each other's awesomeness and how in love Liam was with him. 

The car ride was quiet like it hadn't been before Brett walked into the picture, and he was fully expecting Liam to drop him off at his house without needing to say another word. Instead, the car stopped in front of Liam's house, idling as he turned to face Theo. "You wanna come in? We haven't really hung out since I started dating Brett," Liam said, his cheeks heating a little. So Liam knew it too.

Theo still said yes happily, even with the terrible thought in mind that Liam didn't really care that much, since they were still trying to get Brett back.

+++

"I meant what I said about being a good workout partner," Liam said, staring at the ceiling.

What had started as an afternoon hangout turned to Theo staying over. Liam remembered when they used to do this all the time. Over the summer before junior year Theo used to sleep over almost every weekend, and when they were younger, well, it was even more. Things weren't always the best in Theo's house, not when his dad came to visit, at least, so Theo ended up spending a lot of his time over at Liam's instead. It was no wonder that Theo was one of his closest friends now, since they had spent so much time with each other before. He missed having Theo around so much sometimes. Still, he never threw out the extra toothbrush he kept in the bathroom for it and he still hadn't given back the extra clothes Theo put there occasionally. Theo was the best person to have at his house.

He couldn't see it, since Theo was laying so they were head-to-foot as they usually did, but Liam assumed he was smiling. "Thanks," He said, shuffling around a little. "I try to be when my butterfingers aren't getting in the way."

"I'm serious. You didn't screw it up," Liam continued. This time, Theo did smile. He kept smiling, although a little confused, when Liam turned himself around in bed, taking his pillow with him. 

"What're you doing?" Theo mumbled, dodging Liam's elbow in his face the best he could. Liam tossed his pillow next to Theo's head and settled in so that they were facing each other.

"It's weird talking like this," Liam said with a small grin, propped up on his elbow before his head dropped down to the pillow. He pulled the comforter up over them and made sure Theo had enough, tucking them in tightly. 

They were eye to eye now in a room only dimly lit by the streetlight outside, and Theo ached. _Don't say it, Theo_ pleaded. _Don't let this moment be spoiled._

"I missed having you over," Liam said instead, poking him in the stomach playfully like he hadn't in a long time. Theo waited for the follow-up about what would happen with their plan next, but there wasn't. Liam's eyes shut, peacefully rolling off to sleep, and surrounded by the scent of Liam's shampoo and his sheets, Theo didn't take long either.

He managed not to wake up holding Liam in his arms, but he liked to think that anything could have happened in the night.

+++

Brett stared at Theo as he sat next to Liam for way too long during calc. Before then, Liam's ex had never looked at him twice on purpose, but Theo felt his gaze burning a hole in the back of his head. Part of him wanted to turn around and snap at him, ask him what the hell he could possibly want, but he didn't deserve that satisfaction of getting to him. Liam didn't seem to notice.

He knew logically that Liam wasn't using Theo to make Brett jealous, but he was starting to wonder if that was the route he was going. At least it wasn't intentional on Liam's part. He could handle being the subject of a little jealousy, enjoy it even, if he wasn't specifically trying, but he wasn't sure if he could deal with being Liam's pawn. He would go along with it, because of course he would, and he would like the attention from Liam that came with it, but he would always have it in the back of his mind that none of it was real.

Liam was peacefully doing his math problems next to him, for once content in the class despite being full of complaints every other time, and Theo sighed silently. He wished Liam would have sat next to him sooner; it made the class a whole lot better when he did. Normally he was stuck staring at Liam as he sat with Brett across the room and playing it off like it was a joke, but now he could look at Liam without needing to strain for it. He could bump their hands together if he wanted to and call it a mistake, but he could always linger there. He felt pathetic, especially because Liam was only happy to be there because they were planning to get Brett back with him, meaning that Liam would be right back across the room soon enough.

It had crossed Theo's mind that Brett might not want him back, and that was the best case scenario for all three of them, in Theo's opinion. Brett would be free to fuck around without cheating on anyone, Liam would be able to get over Brett, and Theo would be right there to intercept him when he finally did. However, the hope was dimming more and more with every second that Brett spent looking at Liam when he thought no one was noticing. As much of a dick as he was, he clearly regretted what had happened just a little bit, and Liam was too fragile at the moment to realize that his remorse meant nothing.

Theo had been the one to find out Brett was cheating on Liam, and the memory still made his blood boil.

"You're coming over tonight, right?" Liam asked him, and Theo snapped out of his suddenly angry stare at the surface of the desk. Luckily, Liam seemed pretty unaware. Theo started to get excited before he remembered. "I have a new idea."

"Oh. Yeah," Theo said, trying not to let the disappointment seep through his voice. He would still be hanging out with Liam, at least. "What did you have in mind?"

"You'll see. You think we can go to the mall? Everything's on me, obviously, I just need my support system."

And who was Theo to say no?

+++

The one thing Brett and Theo had in common was having good taste, at least, both in men and in what their men were wearing. It just so happened that Brett seemed to have the same unusual weak spot for a certain type of shirt on guys, and Theo was dying watching Liam step out of the dressing room with a bunch of different ones on. While a lot of guys would have loved to see Liam's muscular arms on display without anything covering it, there was just something about the way that a shirt's long sleeves clung to them that got Theo, and apparently Brett, going. 

"Brett said he liked these," Liam had explained after not answering any questions. They'd gotten Birthday Cake Dippin Dots like their tradition entailed and then Liam had lead him into a men's clothing store and towards the shirt section. Theo had looked around at the department and his eyes widened. One look at a plastic mannequin with a dark grey, long-sleeved shirt stretched across its chest told him he was in for trouble. Liam knew he wasn't straight, but he hadn't told him that _very specific_ and _very obscure_ detail about what he liked about guys. He probably wouldn't have brought him along if he had.

So he found himself sitting on one of the chairs in the dressing rooms, outside the stalls but still there so Liam could show him every one, Dippin Dots basically forgotten. He was trying to be unbiased about it, since Liam wasn't looking to please him, but it was harder than he thought. 

"What about this one?" Liam asked, opening the door to his fitting room. He stepped out in a dark blue sweater that hugged him in just the right way, turning around to show Theo each angle. He was really killing him, here. 

"It looks good," Theo said, trying to keep his voice steady. "But...Liam, you like this, don't you?"

"Huh?" Liam asked, leaning on the doorway to his stall. 

"I mean...you know you don't have to change yourself for Brett if you don't like it? You should be thinking of yourself, too."

Liam grinned at him softly. Theo held his breath as he walked over to him, reached his hand out - and tapped him on the nose. "And that-" He said, the tip of his finger hitting the tip of his nose. "Is why you're my best friend." 

It wasn't hard for Theo to manage through that - he had heard it so many times before that it left him feeling numb instead of like he was crumbling. He was able to ignore it now. Liam went back into the dressing room, and Theo went back to his snack.

"...Y'know, it would be a lot easier if you came in here," Liam said out of nowhere, and Theo froze. The tension in the room was palpable, but apparently only for Theo, who had stopped chewing and was still frozen. "Just so I don't have to keep coming in and out, y'know?"

 _Fuck. Fuck! Fuck, he couldn't go in with him...but he couldn't say no, either, that would be weird! He'd invited him in, he had to go, if he didn't Liam would know that something was up! But he really couldn't see Liam shirtless..._ "Uh...yeah, okay..." Theo said instead, and his brain almost went haywire. _You idiot!_

Liam unlocked the door as he was pulling on a light grey shirt, long sleeved like all the other ones, and Theo stepped in tentatively. He made a mental note of it to freak out to Tracy about this later; she had known about his crush on Liam even while they were dating. That was why they eventually broke up, after all, and she would certainly want to hear about _this_. Theo tried not to look at Liam's abs as he pulled the shirt the rest of the way on, but he got a glimpse in the mirror anyway from where he was standing awkwardly behind Liam. He busied himself by counting the ceiling tiles instead. "What do you think about this one?" Liam asked. 

Theo couldn't even hide his look of complete awe, either. He looked at Liam through the mirror and knew that this was his favorite one by far, the color susceptible to all shadows and highlights that came along with Liam's body, showing it off, but also making him look soft and cuddly all the same. Even if Liam always looked like that, this shirt wasn't doing anything to hide it, and he was forever grateful he even got to see Liam in it. "That's...yeah," Theo stuttered, biting back his embarrassment at the way he sounded, voice weak and a little too raspy. "You should definitely buy that one." Liam grinned at him through the mirror. His eyes landed on the jacket Theo was wearing. 

"Wait, what if I..." He trailed, turning around and pulling Theo's leather jacket down his arms. Theo watched with bated breath as he slipped it on over the shirt, and there. There was the perfect image. "Looks good."

They walked out with that shirt and a few others in a bag to take with them. They spent the rest of their time at the mall screwing around, but Theo couldn't get the image of Liam looking that good out of his head until much later.

+++

Liam thought this plan couldn't be going any better. Brett always seemed to be looking at him when he spared him a glance, each time being either more jealous, hungry-looking, or both, meaning the plan was working and it would only be a matter of time before he got to drop it.

In all honesty, at this point in the game, it was less about Brett and getting him back and more about how much fun he was having in the process. He and Theo were almost always together, hanging out and brainstorming, and it helped that Theo was definitely a great partner for it. He was always there and ready to listen, but that wasn't new. Theo had been good to him for a long time, so it should be no surprise that he was there for him now. The best part about this whole thing was hanging out with him this much. He'd really missed it. 

When he was with Brett, he was the happiest he'd ever been, but it definitely cut into his time with Theo. At first, it had been the new relationship bubble making him want to spend all his time with Brett, but he started to realize about a month in that once the bubble had popped, he still wasn't with Theo as much. It took him awhile to realize it, but Brett hadn't really been up to entertaining Liam's ideas about hanging around Theo, and he always seemed to want to make plans when Liam mentioned having them with Theo. Wanting to please Brett, he'd almost always gone along with it. 

He didn't know why, but he never told Theo that Brett was jealous of him. Theo never seemed to like Brett that much either - it didn't take an idiot to see it - and he didn't want to make things more awkward between his boyfriend and one of the most important people in his life. So yeah, Brett had been a big part of why Theo and Liam weren't as close as they were before, but he could always count on things to fall back together in the end. He and Theo were like magnets. Nobody could keep them apart for long.

It stuck in the back of his mind that he would have to miss this if he and Brett got back together, and that "if" was starting to seem more like a "when," all things considered. He glanced over at Theo, the other boy sitting criss-cross on top of Liam's bed on that Saturday afternoon, and his spirits dampened a little. When he got back with Brett, he was going to have to make an effort to stick around with Theo. He didn't think he could go back to being without him again. He wasn't sure now how he did that for six whole months. It felt right. Theo made him feel good.

It had been awhile since they'd talked, so Liam reached over and poked him in the stomach, knowing it always got a rise out of him. Surely enough, Theo turned his head and scowled jokingly, swatting at his knee. Liam poked him again, that time harder, and Theo scoffed. "Is that how it is?" He asked, a slight grunt to it as he pushed himself up on his knees to shove Liam backwards, and both of them laughed as Liam almost fell right off the queen-size.

Liam snickered as he got the upper-hand on Theo, pushing him backwards so he was flat on the bed before he started tickling his stomach. Theo squirmed and groaned in protest, swatting his hands away as they went over his shirt and under it when it got bunched up far enough. Liam smirked. Theo always got so mad that Liam wasn't ticklish, so there was nothing Theo could do to fight back.

Well, there wasn't in the beginning, at least. Maybe months ago, Theo couldn't fight back, since he wasn't anywhere near as strong as Liam, but he had enough strength now to push Liam off of him and pin him down. Liam laughed and kicked as Theo tried to tickle him anyway until they got tired.

Liam sat back up and huffed out a long breath, straightening out his shirt and hair, and Theo stayed laying down, panting for breath. "Ha, asthma," Liam teased. Theo took one hand off his stomach and flipped him off, but still laughed, staring at the ceiling. His hair was a little messed up and spread across the bedspread, making him look soft and disheveled, comfortable, in a way Liam liked to see him at his house. "Come 'ere," He muttered, motioning for him to come closer.

Theo looked like he wasn't sure what to do, but he settled with his head on one of Liam's thighs like Liam had wanted him to. They both hummed quietly in contentment. There was fallen hair across Theo's forehead and Liam's fingers itched to brush it out of the way, and soon enough, he found himself brushing it back and combing his fingers all the way through.

Theo smiled up at him softly as he worked, but it didn't reach where it should've. Liam was stumped. Theo hadn't been...right, for awhile now, and he was getting worried. He used to smile a lot more, he thought, and when they hung out, he seemed to shut off at the most random of times. He wondered if it had something to do with his home, if something was going on again that Liam didn't know about. 

He didn't ask, since Theo rarely ever talked about what was bothering him. Instead, he wondered what he could do to make it feel better, and he remembered what he had noticed about Theo awhile back: he liked a good plan, just knowing what was going on with his own life and his friends'. That must be why he liked helping Liam with this so much. "We should probably think of some more things to do with this whole Brett thing," Liam said to break the silence.

He didn't see it, the way Theo's grin fell the slightest bit, too busy watching his hands card through Theo's hair, but Theo thought it was probably for the best. What Liam didn't know couldn't hurt him, even if Theo was beginning to wear thin. 

+++

Theo hates Brett with his entire being. How could he not, after going through what he did? He's said it before and he'll say it again: Brett has been a thorn in Theo's side and someone who hasn't deserved such a perfect person as Liam from the very beginning.

He was there the minute Liam realized he had feelings for Brett, and he was there to hear about it all. He heard all about how great Brett was and how hot or cute or smart he was for weeks, just that on a repeated loop for what felt like forever. He'd been dating Tracy then, so there was no reason for him to disagree, but he'd loved him for the longest time before then. It was always there.

He was there when they started talking, and Liam showed him every text they sent each other and told him about every detail of the two of them flirting. Theo still remembered how excited Liam was, and some of the texts Brett had sent. He had been all red flags even then. He compared Liam to his exes and people he was talking to, and even called him his "favorite" at one point. As if Liam could have competed with anyone in the first place. Liam was the best Brett would ever get.

He was there when they started dating. He gave Liam advice and anything he asked for to make the transition smoother, although he was hurting. Tracy broke up with him then, too tired of Theo constantly pining over someone else, unable to look past it anymore. 

He was there to see it with his own two eyes, Brett cheating on Liam while he was out sick with the stomach flu one day. He'd been planning on bringing Liam some soup and keeping him company like they used to do as kids, but he'd brought the bad news along with it: they had been making out, Brett and Nolan, in the stacks in the library. He'd even had a picture to show Liam, and he was there while he was crying and throwing up and probably wishing to die.

He was there since the _fourth fucking grade_ , when Liam didn't have anybody to play with on the playground. His anger wasn't only because he was in love with Liam, his anger was for seeing Liam hurt so many times by so many people and watching him run back to them, because he was just that kind of person. He was kindhearted and forgiving and too much of an optimist with too much faith in people, faith in people who didn't deserve any of it. 

Theo had a dream about the night Liam found out Brett was cheating on him. He'd been so heartbroken. Theo had been able to see it in his eyes, the way his world fell apart while he was already sick and tired, and Theo remembered spending the night with him. The hours in which Liam realized that the guy he had grown to love and trust was using him and not at all devoted to him. Hours where he cried and threw up both from sickness and stress until he was too exhausted to move, falling asleep with his sweaty head on Theo's shoulder on the bathroom floor. Theo hated Brett with everything.

So he couldn't help Liam pursue it anymore. He could barely bring himself to watch as Brett smiled at Liam and ran his hand up his bicep in class, so he knew then that he couldn't do this anymore. Not to himself, and not to Liam. 

Although he didn't say that, not in so many words.

+++

"I'm getting so close!" Liam said excitedly in a hushed whisper, coming up to Theo after talking to Brett. "Did you see the way he was talking to me? It was just like old times, Theo, the plan is working. We just need one more thing-"

"I can't."

Theo's body went rigid the same time Liam's did, watching his smile drop off his face in a matter of seconds. "Y-you can't what?"

Theo glanced over to Brett, and his shoulders sagged at the heaviness he felt in his chest. In that moment, all he could see was Liam by his side, smiling, laughing, happy, while Brett was still only half there. He would never love Liam as much as Liam loved him, and that was the only thing he could think. "I can't help you with this anymore."

Liam looked at him, completely confused, then back at Brett. "Theo, I don't underst-"

"He _cheated_ on you, Liam," Theo said. He wanted it to sound a lot angrier than it did, but he wondered if it even mattered at all. He was tired, and that was how it came out, exactly how he was feeling. He could only hope that it was enough. Liam's body tensed up defensively, his lips parting in surprise, not at his words but that he said them at all. "I know you want to look past that, so I haven't brought it up, but it happened, and he doesn't- Brett doesn't deserve to have you back, Liam, not if he's not going to love you the same way you love him and will turn to other people whenever he gets bored, a-and I wanted you to be happy, so I helped," Theo explained, picking up in pace. He took a deep breath that felt like he was dying on the exhale. The backs of his eyes pricked. "But I know you. I know that you don't want to think about Brett cheating on you, but it's always going to be in the back of your mind, and no matter what you think is going to happen if you get back together, you'll _always_ have that there. You can't be as happy as you were in the beginning because you _know_ better now, and fuck, I _wish_ you didn't have to, but you do, and you're not going to be able to forget that. That's not the way you _work_. And he-" Theo cut off, looking strongly past Liam's shoulder, trying not to see his stricken expression. Brett was talking to Nolan now, just like he had been when he and Liam were together, and it made him want to punch something. "He would never get that. So I'm sorry. But I can't help you anymore."

Liam was speechless, and Theo walked away like that, out of the classroom and towards the exit. Fuck his next classes and fuck his life. Whatever Liam did after that was up to him, but he couldn't be a part of it anymore.

+++

Liam didn't really know how to talk to Theo after that. They still sat next to each other in lunch and they had conversations, but there was this divide between them that everyone could see. Mason and Corey shot them questioning looks every time there was a moment of discomfort, and it felt like nothing else Liam had experienced. It made his heart hurt, and the only way he could describe it was saying that it was like there was a wall between them now. Theo's eyes were sad and he couldn't crack why, not that Theo would ever tell him. Something biting at him tried to convince him Theo didn't want to tell him _anything_ again, and he was having a hard time pushing it to the back.

A lack of Theo around made Brett become a lot more confident in his actions, and he came to talk to Liam more, flirt, touch, but it didn't feel good. If anything, Liam found himself more disinterested than anything else when Brett brushed his hand up his arm, but why? Wasn't this what he wanted?

He'd thought about it extensively throughout the past few days. He had too much on his mind not to, after all. He had no idea what happened, if he was being honest with himself. Liam wasn't sure he had felt less in control than the night he broke up with Brett, and he wasn't taking kindly to it.

Not when Theo was across from him in the booth in the pizza place after school instead of next to him like normal. Theo should be there next to him to kick at each other's feet, but he was so far away.

Brett worked at the parlor they were in. That wasn't why they were there, it had been a longstanding tradition on free friday afternoons that they all split a small pizza after school, but Liam still felt his eyes on him from behind the counter. What used to be heat or tingles shooting down his spine now felt like a burning itch as Brett's eyes bore into the side of his face, but Liam got up anyway. He was vaguely aware of Theo watching him as he walked up to the counter, but there wasn't any going back on it now. He could do nothing about the situation, or he could get as much good out of it as he could. Things would be awkward either way.

It was weird seeing Brett at the counter again, leaning against the granite smugly. It had been awhile since they'd talked there, and it was more intimidating now than it had been before, Brett's pleased expression and muscled arms on display for him. He had been waiting for him to come over, knowing he would, and Liam had taken the bait as always. "Hey there," Brett said, a hint of satisfaction in his voice and his smirk. "What can I get you?"

"I don't know...something sweet?" Liam tried as a flirtation. It worked for Brett, but weirdly enough, it didn't work for Liam. It felt garbled and odd coming from his mouth, and he cringed at the fact that he had said it at all and even more at the fact that it worked. Brett turned around, stretching his arms and cracking his knuckles as he went, to grab him a glass. Liam watched him scoop two scoops of vanilla ice cream into it and fill the rest with rootbeer.

"Your favorite," Brett said, sliding it over to him across the counter. "On the house." It should have been touching that Brett remembered Liam's favorite thing on the menu, an inside joke of their's, but Liam wasn't hungry. He wanted more to push it back towards him, but he smiled awkwardly and pushed the spoon around in it to mix it up. He grew more uneasy by the second. Brett leaned on the counter with his forearms, taking Liam in. "I knew you'd be back."

"Was just saying hi," Liam said. _What are you doing?? This isn't part of the plan!_ He felt eyes on him again, this time Theo's. The familiar feeling of comfort washed over him for just a second before he remembered who he was in front of.

"You don't have to hide it, baby, I knew you would be. You're good like that, dependable. That's why you're my favorite."

Liam didn't know what broke in that moment, but it felt like something had just snapped into place in his head. His _favorite_? You can't have _favorites_ when you're dating someone. It's not special to be his _favorite_ when you were already in a relationship under the impression that there were no _favorites_. There were no _favorites_ if he was the only one. " _Favorite_ , huh?" Liam huffed out a laugh, staring down at his drink. Brett nodded.

"Of course, Li. You always were."

That was rich. "Obviously I wasn't your favorite if you cheated on me," Liam said flatly, meeting Brett's eyes fully for the first time in weeks. Anger grew under his skin as he watched him reel back in incredulous surprise, like he hadn't expected Liam to dare to say anything to him. "And you can't fucking have a _favorite_ if you're in a relationship, who the hell do you think you are?"

"What has gotten _into_ you?"

"I-I don't know! But not _you_ anymore!"

It wasn't the smoothest line ever, but give him a break. His entire brain felt fuzzy with anger and sudden realizations.

The rootbeer float he tossed at Brett definitely made up for the weaker line. He turned back to look at his table to see Mason and Corey wide-eyed and wide-mouthed along with pretty much everybody else in the pizza parlor, but that wasn't what his heart was screaming for him to look for. He heard the glass roll onto the floor and Brett sputter at the same second he realized Theo was gone, as if he had never been there in the first place. "You're not coming back here, Liam! I'll make sure of it, I'll get your ass banned!"

"Fine!" Liam shouted, throwing him a middle finger over his shoulder. "Your mozzarella sticks suck, anyway!"

"Yeah? Fuck you!" Was all he heard as he pushed past the glass door, leaving his handprints on it without a care, but he barely paid any attention.

It's important to note that both Theo and Liam had walked out of the shop thinking under very different circumstances and very different impressions of what happened.

 _I_ love him.

I love _him_.

+++

Theo was only ever on the porch swing when he was sad. Liam had grown to know that over the years as Theo's spot when he couldn't be at Liam's place and he didn't want to be inside where people would ask questions, so it didn't make him feel great to see Theo there now. He was rocking back and forth on the swing, the spring breeze blowing through his hair softly, rubbing at the ridges in the sole of his shoe idly. Liam wondered how much he had seen at the parlor almost as much as he wondered how long Theo had been out there.

"Hey," Liam said, breaking the silence as he climbed up the two porch steps. Theo looked at him and gave him a weak, one-sided grin. "Can I sit?"

"Yeah," Theo said, shifting over a little on the seat. Liam still took the middle cushion, just to be close. Now that he knew why he always wanted to be close to Theo, Liam wished for it even more. "Why'd you come here?"

Although Liam's heart was beating like crazy at the same time he was bone-tired, he couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, so the thing is," He started, but he couldn't get far without Theo laughing softly. "I haven't even started yet."

"No, sorry, just the way you said that..." Theo trailed, shaking his head slowly. "Sorry."

"The thing is...I may have gotten us banned from Torrigno's?" Liam said, the end of his statement tilting up in a question. He felt a wide smile split his face when Theo looked up at him in surprise, laughter bubbling up. He had no idea how he hadn't seen how beautiful Theo's smile had been before.

"W- how?" Theo demanded, trying not to let his laughter take over. Liam bit his lip and looked at the sky in embarrassment before taking a deep breath.

"I threw a rootbeer float in Brett's face," Liam said quickly, cringing a little at the scene he made. Theo gasped.

"You didn't."

"Oh yeah. I did. It was all over his shirt and some of it got into his hair...we're not allowed back there," Liam sighed. Theo snickered as he leaned his head back against the back of the swing, still rocking it with one leg off the side. Liam watched him for a minute as Theo closed his eyes, taking in the air. "Why'd you leave?"

Theo tensed and took a second too long to look at him. When he did, it was with a deep sigh, one that told Liam that Theo was just as exhausted as he was. "I saw you two talking and I thought that was it," He admitted. "I thought you were getting back together again, and I couldn't watch it. I thought he had won you over, even though you deserve so, so much better than that," He said. A pause. A breath. "I'm glad you didn't."

"Me too," Liam said quietly. "And I do. Deserve more than that, I mean."

Theo nodded in agreement, eyes closed again and head tilted up towards the sky.

"You," Liam said shakily. "You're better."

Theo's eyes snapped open. "What?"

"You're...better than Brett..." Liam tried, but the words wouldn't come to him.

Moving to kiss Theo did instead.

It was immediate, the reaction he got after he leaned into his space. Liam felt his lips hit Theo's and in the same second Theo's hand was on the back of his neck, holding him there like he had been dying for it, and Liam could do nothing more than try to breathe through his nose through how overwhelmed he was in the best way. Theo was warm and soft and right under him, too good not to want to wrap his arms around his neck and never let go, which was exactly what he did.

They kissed until Theo ran out of breath, the athsmatic dork, and as soon as they broke away Theo's face was buried in his neck. "God, I love you," He choked out, and Liam gasped and instinctively squeezed tighter. "I know it's way too soon to say it and I don't even know if you feel the same but I can't let it go one more second without you knowing-"

"I love you too," Liam breathed, and nothing, nothing had ever felt like feeling Theo's body relax with relief as he held onto him. Theo wrapped his arms around Liam's waist and Liam kept his firmly around Theo's neck, every bit of contact they could have being used. "I don't- I just- you're right," Liam said, and that was all Theo needed to hear.

+++

The first few minutes after he got together with Theo, a smile almost hurting his face, was the best Liam had ever felt in his life. He had never anticipated that holding Theo this tightly would ever feel this good, that he was allowed to have it, but they stayed on the porch swing and just crushed each other under strong arms. Neither of them minded at all.

The first few hours after he got together with Theo, Liam found out that holding him never seemed to get old. They were in Liam's bedroom then, both of them buzzing with anticipation and questions threatening to burst through, but they were both so nervously excited that they silently agreed to take it slow almost on accident. They laid on Liam's bed above the covers, Theo's head in his lap again, and this time, they could stare freely. There was a smile permanently affixed to Liam's face.

The first few days after getting together with Theo, Liam truly had something to wake up for again, and he didn't mind that vulnerability at all. He went to sleep excited to see Theo's text the next morning and woke up happy and fresh, ready to see his boyfriend at school where they couldn't keep themselves together. They were so all over each other in ways Theo had only dreamt of before, and they were both so excited about it that it quickly drove their friends up a wall, but they didn't care in the slightest. They were cute, and that was that.

This time, Liam knew one thing: he was going to keep this one together.

Not that that would be an issue at all. There were no problems with Theo, and he had no doubt about it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! It's currently 1 AM, so I'm gonna be brief with the notes today :) Sorry about any mistakes, this isn't Beta'd. 
> 
> Comments and Criticism is always appreciated :))  
> \- Emma
> 
> tumblr: grenadinepeach


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